Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday embarked on her third “investment mission” abroad in the last four months, jet-setting to the UK and Ireland for a week amid mounting problems at home.

“Michigan has long enjoyed strong economic and cultural ties with the UK and Ireland, and this mission presents an opportunity to build on that foundation,” Whitmer said in a Sunday statement. “By fostering trade relationships and attracting new investment, we are creating opportunities for Michigan businesses and workers while enhancing our state’s economic resilience in a rapidly evolving global market.”

The week-long excursion with Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin Messer, Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Tim Boring, and Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Scott Bowen will involve “strategic meetings with business leaders, government officials, and industry stakeholders to promote investment opportunities in Michigan.”

The governor and crew plan to meet with officials at companies that have already invested in Michigan, and host roundtables with the Midlands Aerospace Alliance, Enterprise Ireland, and the American Chamber of Commerce.

In addition, the group will meet with newly elected government officials, “reinforcing diplomatic ties and fostering collaborative economic growth efforts,” according to the governor’s office.

“This investment mission will provide a valuable chance to consult with international partners about natural resource management, sustainability and tourism,” Bowen said. “The trip will also give us a chance to learn about natural resource management in other parts of the world and discuss business connections that can benefit everyone. I want to make sure our international partners know that Michigan’s amazing outdoor recreation opportunities rival iconic destinations anywhere on the globe.”

The trip follows numerous other international “investment missions,” the governor’s repeated book tours, nonstop social media campaigns and relentless politicking on behalf of Democrats that has fueled criticism Whitmer is prioritizing her political ambitions over her constituents.

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The potential 2028 presidential candidate last month led a delegation to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to “bring new jobs back home to create even more good-paying opportunities for Michiganders.”

That trip, which included 20 staff members, MEDC employees, and others, cost taxpayers over $176,000, Michigan Enjoyer reported.

In November, it was a five-day investment mission to Spain, which cost at least $69,203 in airfare, hotels, food and entertainment for the governor and her 10-member entourage, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Another trip to Taiwan in March 2024 totaled $141,597, while her 2023 trip to Japan was $285,000, the news site reports.

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Through the first three quarters of 2024, Whitmer spent a quarter of her time as governor on trips to other places, both national and international, according to analysis by The Detroit News of bonus payments to Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist for serving as governor in her absence.

The analysis showed Gilchrist could have been paid for 78 days, or 29% of the first nine months of 2024, though Whitmer spokesman Bobby Leddy claimed it was 58 days, or 21%.

In addition to campaign stops on behalf of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Hampshire, and elsewhere, Whitmer also jetted to Seattle, Santa Monica, San Francisco, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Washington DC, and Little Rock to promote her book True Gretch in 2024.

There were also stops to promote her book on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert, Good Morning America, The View, CNN and other programs.

Last March, Whitmer headed to sunny San Diego amid a winter storm that knocked out power to an estimated 650,000 Michiganders, although the reason why was unclear.

In May, it was a trip to the 28^th Annual Webby Awards in New York City, where she celebrated the “success” of her “Governor Barbie” online campaign in 2023, which featured a Whitmer lookalike cruising the state in a vintage pink Corvette to tout the governor’s policies on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Facebook.

The governor’s busy schedule has continued in 2025 with the additional “investment missions” and a second-round book tour to promote the young adult version of True Gretch. The young adult book launched the same week the governor typically delivers her State of the State address, which was delayed this year until February.

The 2025 book tour has so far included events and book signings across Michigan, as well as New York City, Tucson, Washington, DC, Goral Gables, Indianapolis, in addition to numerous television appearances.

The governor’s regular absences have riled Republicans at home, who remain fixated on the state’s crumbling roads, 10 months of rising unemployment, billions in failed development deals, declining education outcomes and curbing the state’s runaway spending.

State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, noted the most recent trip to the UK and Ireland come as Whitmer’s Department of Natural Resources and Bowen continue to pressure lawmakers for a nearly $30 million funding increase.

“It’s trips like these that prove exactly why the public doesn’t trust the DNR or its leadership. They’re out in our communities talking about how strapped for cash they are one week and boarding a plane for a week-long vacation in the UK and Ireland the next,” Cavitt said in a statement.

“This two-faced approach to governing has to stop. I’m willing to have a good-faith debate about DNR funding and the way the department uses those funds. But that conversation isn’t going to start until lawmakers get absolute certainty that the DNR director’s vacation budget has been zeroed out.”

It’s a similar message from state Rep. Ken Borton, R-Gaylord, an outspoken critic of the governor’s plan to hike hunting and fishing license fees.

“The governor and her department heads have been talking about revenue increases for months. They say we simply cannot sustain the core functions of government without raising taxes on working people. Either the state has more than enough revenue or the governor must believe that state-funded vacations are a core function of government,” Borton said in a statement.

“Well, the governor and her department heads have some hard truths coming their way. House Republicans are going to need assurances that working-class tax dollars aren’t going to continue funding these ridiculous overseas trips,” he said. “People want their tax dollars to fix the roads, expand educational opportunities, and secure quality emergency services, not allow the governor to spend her way into fancy dinners with foreign leaders.”

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton, who is vying to replace Whitmer after she’s term-limited out of office at the end of 2026, also pointed to constituents in the state’s 35^th Senate District who continue to wait on the governor to call a special election, and the governor’s insistence on new taxes to fund road repairs.

“She can travel the world on taxpayers dime but she can’t find time to call a special election to replace our missing Senator,” Nesbitt posted to X.

“3 months into the year and the Governor has been to Bahrain, UAE, Arizona, and now Ireland and the United Kingdom. All on the taxpayers dime,” he wrote. “Remember that when she says ‘we don’t have enough money’ for the roads she swore to fix.”

Whitmer’s trip to the UK, ironically, takes place at the same time President Donald Trump and South Korean conglomerate Hyundai announced $20 billion in U.S. investments, to build another auto plant in Georgia and a $5 billion steel plant in Louisiana, CNBC reports.

That investment came without any special trips to South Korea, though Hyundai officials acknowledged they are motivated by Trump’s tariffs.

Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz told Axios “the best way for (Hyundai) to navigate tariffs is to increase localization” in the U.S.